He started 10 of 13 games, the most of any South Carolina freshman player in 2006, including nine of the final 10 games.

He finished with 36 tackles, including 26 solo stops, and was named to the second-team Freshman All-America team by the The Sporting News. He was also voted to the first-team Freshman All-SEC team by the league's coaches.

What does Paulk do for an encore? Improve, he says.

"I'm definitely looking for things to get better as a sophomore," Paulk said. "My freshman year went by real fast. Everybody says your college years go by quickly. You don't think about that too much as a freshman."